an instrument of torture used in the Middle Ages to extort a confession or a promise. It consisted of a wooden frame somewhat longer than a bedstead with a roller at each end. The victim of torture was laid on his back on this frame, the ankles were tied by a cord to one roller and the wrists to the other. By turning the rollers with pins or handspikes and winding up the cords, the victim's body would be lifted and his limbs could be stretched beyond endurance, even to tearing them out of their sockets. A twinge or two of such mortal agony would extort the hiding place of treasure, wife, or child, or secure the assent to any statement the persecutor might desire to place in his mouth. Civilized nations wisely forbid the use of torture even to get at the secrets of the vilest offenders. In fact, in English-speaking countries, the law does not compel one to testify against himself or a wife against her husband.